Playstation 4 Named Orbis Release Date Christmas 2013

Can you believe it has been six years since Sony last released a PlayStation console? The PlayStation enthusiasts have been longing for the next generation. According to sources that spoke to the Wall Street Journal, the rumors has it that Sony could be releasing the next generation in 2013, but perhaps later in the year in Q4 2013, which would be in time for Christmas shopping season. The 2013 release date will be tricky since Microsoft is also rumored to be releasing their Xbox 720 in 4Q 2013 as well for the holiday season.

Name

Indications are that the model would be called the “Orbis” instead of continuing the series to “PlayStation 4”. But the casual fans of the PlayStation would likely still call it the PS4 until they get used to the new name. Orbis sounds very close to the English word Orbit and actually means what it sounds like: Orbis in Latin means ring or circular object. The name itself could fuel some speculations about the device or the design itself. Renderings of the Playstation 4 (or Orbis) can be found on the internet that tend to gravitate toward a sleek oval and futuristic shape for the console itself.

Update: the name Orbis may actually just be the code name for the project, and in this case Sony likely would name the device Playstation 4 in all likelihood

Cloud Based Games Rumor

Sony has contemplated a drastic change to change its games from it’s traditional discs to a cloud based download for the games. The concept was even tested on the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play, which is an Android phone that is able to play Playstation games. But, ultimately, citing the download speeds around the world as an issue, Sony decided to keep it’s disc format for now. It’s an interesting concept that I’m sure Sony or other gaming providers will revisit again in the future.

Playstation 4 Specs

Indications are the Playstation 4 will run on AMD x64 processor, graphics by AMD Southern Islands GPU, which would be capable at handling a whopping 4096 x 2160 (4k2k) resolution. Talk about high-def! Guess we’ll be ale to see Mario’s nose hair while driving his go-cart.

One big bummer about the Playstation 4 is that it’s reportedly NOT backward compatible with the older version of the Playstation games. This wouldn’t be too big of a problem since gamers tend to buy the latest and greatest games that’s currently out in the market, but I’m sure that will shun some casual gamers.

It seems that Sony is leaning toward making a complete overhaul for this device, looking to take a riskier path to invent something that may become the standard for all gaming devices of the future. Of course, when you start going down that path of the so-called pioneer, you run the risk of hitting either side of the risk spectrum. The idea could be a huge hit or a a huge miss, with nothing in between. The idea of taking games to a strictly cloud based median may be forward thinking, but how would game developers keep up with the technology? With the complexity of the games these days, the production of a game may take years to complete. Granted, the larger gaming companies, such as Bungie or Electronic Arts, would likely sign a NDA to have access to the beta machine and began their process of developing new games. But to completely overhaul the device would be far too risky and take a long time for the game developers to catchup.

Xbox 720 Release Date

Sounds like Sony’s Playstation 4 might have to worry about going head to head with Microsoft’s new Xbox, which from “leaked docs” will be named the Xbox 720. There are rumors that Microsoft has already begun production in their plant in Austin, TX. Project Durango it was codenamed, the Xbox 720 is rumored to have already finished its testing phase and begun production in order to beat Sony to the market. This would put Microsoft in a good position to launch in 2013 just in time for the holiday season, and possibly sooner.

Halo Destiny Release Coincide With Xbox 720 Release Date?

Gamers have linked the Xbox 720 released date to Bungie’s next release of its Halo series. The new Halo multi-title series known as “Destiny” was actually revealed in a lawsuit document between Activision and Infinity Ward. The contract actually made reference to “Xbox 720” when talking about releasing the Destiny series. If the release dates are linked, it would point toward a late Fall release. All of the Halo games so far have been released between Sept and Nov of their respective years. With such a massively popular game such as Halo, it would make sense for Microsoft to coordinated a release date with Bungie to make a huge splash in their debut.

Without going into details, below is an image of a slide of what appears to be specs for a device. But we won’t speculate what it is…

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